Political commentary from the LA Times

OK, it’s not as dramatic as a hanging chad, or the long-stalled Al Franken-Norm Coleman race for the Senate, but The Ticket’s exploration of beer preferences has hit a snag. Earlier today, in honor of the Beer Summit at the White House, we asked readers to cast their vote — did they prefer Bud Light, Red Stripe or Blue Moon?

But it seems that, as with everything connected to the Harvard Professor Incident, things got complicated.

Our admittedly unscientific poll was in honor of the meeting of President Obama, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sgt. James Crowley of the police department in Cambridge, Mass. The professor and....

... sergeant famously tangled after Crowley went to investigate a report of someone trying to break into Gates’ house. That someone turned out to be Gates, and things got messy from there. Gates was arrested for disorderly conduct, the charges were dropped, Obama criticized police and people have been talking about it ever since.

This all prompted Obama to invite the men over for a beer to hash things out, which led to our question. If you had a chance to raise a glass with the president, which beer would you choose of the three to be served — Blue Moon, Red Stripe or Bud Light?

Well, it turns out that Gates had a Sam Adams Light. And a surprise guest, Vice President Joe Biden, had a Buckler, a low-alcohol beer. Obviously, the results of earlier voting have been thrown into question, though Blue Moon consistently led with hundreds of votes cast.

So, in the interest of transparency, we present a second chance to cast your vote.

Oh, and the beer summit? Stay tuned to latimes.com for the latest. For now, Obama’s statement following the summit:

I am thankful to Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley for joining me at the White House this evening for a friendly, thoughtful conversation. Even before we sat down for the beer, I learned that the two gentlemen spent some time together listening to one another, which is a testament to them.

I have always believed that what brings us together is stronger than what pulls us apart. I am confident that has happened here tonight, and I am hopeful that all of us are able to draw this positive lesson from this episode.